Toilet Ventilation Assembly

ABSTRACT

A toilet ventilation assembly for removing odors from a toilet bowl includes a pump that is mountable to a toilet bowl and an intake that is mountable between the toilet bowl and a toilet seat on the toilet bowl. The intake has an air passage is integrated therein and the intake is fluidly coupled to the pump. In this way the pump urges air inwardly through the air passage to suctionally remove odors from the toilet bowl. A motion sensor is coupled to the pump and the pump is turned on when the motion sensor senses motion. A filter housing is in fluid communication with the pump and a filter is removably positioned in the filter housing for removing odors from the air.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to ventilation devices and more particularly pertains to a new ventilation device for removing odors from a toilet bowl.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to ventilation devices. The prior art discloses a ventilation fan that includes a plurality of panels each being pivotally coupled to a fan. The prior art discloses a variety of ventilated toilets that each includes a toilet seat with a plurality of air passages therein and a pump for urging air into the air passages to ventilate a toilet bowl. Additionally, the prior art discloses a toilet ventilation assembly that includes an intake that has a slot therein for receiving a pivot for a toilet seat. The prior art also discloses a ventilation device that includes a pump and an intake that is positionable between a toilet bowl and a toilet seat.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a pump that is mountable to a toilet bowl and an intake that is mountable between the toilet bowl and a toilet seat on the toilet bowl. The intake has an air passage is integrated therein and the intake is fluidly coupled to the pump. In this way the pump urges air inwardly through the air passage to suctionally remove odors from the toilet bowl. A motion sensor is coupled to the pump and the pump is turned on when the motion sensor senses motion. A filter housing is in fluid communication with the pump and a filter is removably positioned in the filter housing for removing odors from the air.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective phantom view of a toilet ventilation assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a back phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a bottom phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective in-use view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 thereof, a new ventilation device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the toilet ventilation assembly 10 generally comprises a pump 12 that is mountable to a toilet bowl 14. The toilet bowl 14 may be a component of any conventional toilet that is plumbed into a sewer system and the pump 12 may be an electric air pump. The pump 12 has an inlet 16 and an exhaust 18, and the pump 12 urges air inwardly through the inlet 16 and outwardly through the exhaust 18 when the pump 12 is turned on. The pump 12 has a forward wall 20, an upper wall 22 and a rear wall 24, and the forward wall 20 is directed toward a front side 26 of the toilet bowl 14.

An intake 28 is provided that is mountable between the toilet bowl 14 and a toilet seat 29 on the toilet bowl 14. The intake 28 has an air passage 30 integrated therein such that the intake 28 is in fluid communication with an interior of the toilet bowl 14. Moreover, the intake 28 is fluidly coupled to the pump 12 such that the pump 12 is in fluid communication with the interior of the toilet bowl 14. The pump 12 urges air inwardly through the air passage 30 to suctionally remove odors from the toilet bowl 14.

The intake 28 has a top side 32, a bottom side 34 and a front side 36, and the air passage 30 extends through the front side 36. The bottom side 34 has an air hole 38 extending upwardly into the air passage 30. Additionally, the intake 28 has a pair of fastener apertures 40 each extending through the top side 32 and the bottom side 34. The fastener apertures 40 are spaced apart from each other a pre-determined distance thereby facilitating each of the fastener apertures 40 to be aligned with a respective one of a pair of existing bolts 42 on the toilet seat 29. In this way the intake 28 can be fastened to the toilet bowl 14 with the existing bolts 42 in the toilet seat 29. Moreover, the intake 28 is oriented such that the front side 36 faces an interior of the toilet bowl 14.

A control circuit 44 is coupled to the pump 12 and the control circuit 44 is in electrical communication with the pump 12. The control circuit 44 receives a motion input and the control circuit 44 turns on the pump 12 when the control circuit 44 receives the motion input. A motion sensor 46 is coupled to the pump 12 to detect motion proximate the toilet bowl 14. The motion sensor 46 is positioned on the forward wall 20 of the pump 12 to sense motion of a person approaching the toilet bowl 14. The motion sensor 46 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 44 and the control circuit 44 receives the motion input when the motion sensor 46 senses motion. The motion sensor 46 may comprise an electronic motion sensor, such as an infra-red motion sensor or the like.

A power supply 48 is removably positioned in the pump 12, the power supply 48 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 44 and the power supply 48 comprises at least one battery. A filter housing 50 is in fluid communication with the pump 12 to receive air from the pump 12. The filter housing 50 has a filter slot 52 extending therein and the filter housing 50 has an input 54 and an exhaust 56. An intake pipe 58 is fluidly coupled between the air passage 30 in the intake 28 and the inlet 16 of the pump 12 to transfer air between the intake 28 and the pump 12.

An exhaust pipe 60 is fluidly coupled between the exhaust 18 in the pump 12 and input on the filter housing 50 to transfer air between the pump 12 and the filter housing 50. A filter 62 is provided and the filter 62 is removably positioned in the filter housing 50. The filter 62 is in fluid communication with each of the input 54 of the filter housing 50 and the exhaust 56 in the filter housing 50. Additionally, the filter 62 is insertable into the filter slot 52 in the filter housing 50. In an alternative embodiment 64 as is most clearly shown in FIG. 6, the exhaust pipe 60 may extend through a wall 66 adjacent to the toilet bowl 14 for passing ventilating the odors.

In use, the pump 12 is turned on when a person approaches the toilet bowl 14 to begun suctionally removing air from the interior of the toilet bowl 14. In this way any odors produced as a result human waste being present in the toilet bowl 14 are removed from the toilet bowl 14. Additionally, the filter 62 removes the odors from the air as the air passes through the filter 62. In this way the odors commonly associated with a restroom can be removed at the source of the odors. The filter 62 can be removed and replaced whenever the filter 62 becomes dirty.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A toilet ventilation assembly for suctionally removing odors from a toilet, said assembly comprising: a pump being mountable to a toilet bowl; an intake being mountable between the toilet bowl and a toilet seat on the toilet bowl, said intake being formed by an upper plate, a lower plate, and a medial plate positioned between said upper plate and said lower plate, said upper plate being continuous within a peripheral edges of said upper plate adjacent to a cutout in said medial plate, said lower plate being continuous within a perimeter edge of said lower plate adjacent to said cutout in said medial plate but for an air hole extending through said lower plate whereby said cutout in said medial plate defines an air passage being integrated into said intake wherein said intake is configured to be in fluid communication with an interior of the toilet bowl, said intake being fluidly coupled to said pump wherein said pump is configured to be in fluid communication with the interior of the toilet bowl, said pump urging air inwardly through said air passage wherein said pump is configured to suctionally remove odors from the toilet bowl, said intake having a top side, a bottom side and a front side, said air passage extending through said front side, said bottom side having said air hole extending upwardly into said air passage, said front side facing an interior of the toilet bowl; said intake having a pair of fastener apertures each extending through upper plate, said lower plate and said medial plate, said fastener apertures being spaced apart from each other a pre-determined distance thereby facilitating each of said fastener apertures to be aligned with a respective one of a pair of bolts on the toilet seat wherein said intake is configured to be fastened to the toilet bowl with the bolts in the toilet seat whereby said upper plate, said lower plate, and said medial plate are secured together to form said intake; a motion sensor being coupled to said pump wherein said motion sensor is configured to detect motion proximate the toilet bowl, said pump being turned on when said motion sensor senses motion; a filter housing being in fluid communication with said pump wherein said filter housing is configured to receive air from said pump, said filter housing has a filter slot extending therein, said filter housing having an input and an exhaust; and a filter being removably positioned in said filter housing, said filter being in fluid communication with each of said input of said filter housing and said exhaust in said filter housing wherein said filter is configured to remove odors from the air being urged therethrough, said filter being insertable into said filter slot in said filter housing.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said pump has an inlet and an exhaust, said pump urging air inwardly through said inlet and outwardly through said exhaust when the pump is turned on, said pump having a forward wall, an upper wall and a rear wall, said forward wall being directed toward a front side of the toilet bowl.
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said assembly includes a control circuit being coupled to said pump, said control circuit being in electrical communication with said pump, said control circuit receiving a motion input, said control circuit turning on said pump when said control circuit receives said motion input; said motion sensor is positioned on said forward wall of said pump wherein said motion sensor is configured to sense motion of a person approaching the toilet bowl, said motion sensor being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said control circuit receiving said motion input when said motion sensor senses motion; and a power supply being removably positioned in said pump, said power supply being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said power supply comprising at least one battery.
 6. (canceled)
 7. The assembly according to claim 3, further comprising an intake pipe being fluidly coupled between said air passage in said intake and an inlet of said pump wherein said intake pipe is configured to transfer air between said intake and said pump.
 8. The assembly according to claim 2, further comprising an exhaust pipe being fluidly coupled between said exhaust in said pump and an input on said filter housing wherein said exhaust pipe is configured to transfer air between said pump and said filter housing.
 9. A toilet ventilation assembly for suctionally removing odors from a toilet, said assembly comprising: a pump being mountable to a toilet bowl, said pump having an inlet and an exhaust, said pump urging air inwardly through said inlet and outwardly through said exhaust when the pump is turned on, said pump having a forward wall, an upper wall and a rear wall, said forward wall being directed toward a front side of the toilet bowl; an intake being mountable between the toilet bowl and a toilet seat on the toilet bowl, said intake being formed by an upper plate, a lower plate, and a medial plate positioned between said upper plate and said lower plate, said upper plate being continuous within a peripheral edges of said upper plate adjacent to a cutout in said medial plate, said lower plate being continuous within a perimeter edge of said lower plate adjacent to said cutout in said medial plate but for an air hole extending through said lower plate whereby said cutout in said medial plate defines an air passage being integrated into said intake wherein said intake is configured to be in fluid communication with an interior of the toilet bowl, said intake being fluidly coupled to said pump wherein said pump is configured to be in fluid communication with the interior of the toilet, bowl, said pump urging air inwardly through said air passage wherein said pump is configured to suctionally remove odors from the toilet bowl, said intake having a top side, a bottom side and a front side, said air passage extending through said front side, said bottom side having said air hole extending upwardly into said air passage, said intake having a pair of fastener apertures each extending through upper plate, said lower plate and said medial plate, said fastener apertures being spaced apart from each other a pre-determined distance thereby facilitating each of said fastener apertures to be aligned with a respective one of a pair of bolts on the toilet seat wherein said intake is configured to be fastened to the toilet bowl with the bolts in the toilet, seat whereby said upper plate, said lower plate, and said medial plate are secured together to form said intake said front side facing an interior of the toilet bowl; a control circuit being coupled to said pump, said control circuit being in electrical communication with said pump, said control circuit receiving a motion input, said control circuit turning on said pump when said control circuit receives said motion input; a motion sensor being coupled to said pump wherein said motion sensor is configured to detect motion proximate the toilet bowl, said motion sensor being positioned on said forward wall of said pump wherein said motion sensor is configured to sense motion of a person approaching the toilet bowl, said motion sensor being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said control circuit receiving said motion input when said motion sensor senses motion; a power supply being removably positioned in said pump, said power supply being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said power supply comprising at least one battery; a filter housing being in fluid communication with said pump wherein said filter housing is configured to receive air from said pump, said filter housing having a filter slot extending therein, said filter housing having an input and an exhaust; an intake pipe being fluidly coupled between said air passage in said intake and said inlet of said pump wherein said intake pipe is configured to transfer air between said intake and said pump; an exhaust pipe being fluidly coupled between said exhaust in said pump and input on said filter housing wherein said exhaust pipe is configured to transfer air between said pump and said filter housing; and a filter being removably positioned in said filter housing, said filter being in fluid communication with each of said input of said filter housing and said exhaust in said filter housing wherein said filter is configured to remove odors from the air being urged therethrough, said filter being insertable into said filter slot in said filter housing. 